California Supplemental Examination (CSE)
Eligibility
Prior to taking the CSE, candidates must:
- Provide verification of five years of education equivalents and three years of architectural practice experience for a total of eight years of experience as evaluated by the Board;
- This includes a minimum of one year of work experience must be under the direct supervision of an architect licensed in a US jurisdiction or two years of experience under the direct supervision of an architect registered in a Canadian province;
- If applicable, complete the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Architectural Experience Program (AXP) or the Canadian Architectural Certification Board’s (CACB) Internship in Architecture Program (IAP); and
- Successfully complete all divisions of the ARE.
A CSE application is mailed to the candidate by the Board once these requirements have been met. The application is not available on the website and is only provided to eligible candidates directly by the Board.
When the completed application and $100 payment have been returned and processed by the Board, the candidate’s eligibility information will be sent to the Board’s examination vendor, Psychological Services, Incorporated (PSI)-psiexams.com. The CSE Handbook provides information found on this site, as well as PSI-specific information and procedures (i.e., scheduling an examination by telephone or online, reporting to the examination site, acceptable forms of identification, etc.).